Review of Legislative Amendments to the Arbitrazh Procedure Code
On 5 January 2024 Federal Law № 667-FZ dated 25.12.2023 “On Amendments to the Arbitrazh Procedural Code of the Russian Federation” (the “Law”) came into force, which introduced significant changes to certain procedural institutions, in particular, increased the time limits for procedural actions, expanded opportunities for consideration of cases in order proceedings and simplified proceedings, etc.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Prohibited Employers from Concluding Fixed-Term Employment Contracts with Heads of Structural Subdivisions of Organisations
On 19 December 2023 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued Resolution № 59-P/2023 “On the Case Concerning the Verification of the Constitutionality of Paragraph Eight of Part Two of Article 59 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Complaint of Citizen E. A. Selkova” (hereinafter - the “Resolution”).
Judicial Practice on Challenging Restriction Measures: Main Trends
Recently the judicial practice on challenging sanctions imposed on Russian persons has begun to shape. We have already written about the first successful case with the participation of Russian person Dmitry Ovsyannikov, the former governor of Sevastopol, who managed to have himself excluded from the sanctions list.
Since that case was decided in February 2023, the sanctions removal practice has enriched by several other notable cases.
The Withdrawal from The Russian Market Has Resulted in Multimillion-Dollar Lawsuits for IT-Companies
Over the past two years, the number of arbitration disputes on the recovery of unjust enrichment from foreign IT-companies has increased significantly. For the period from 2022 to 2023, according to the Arbitration Case File, dozens of claims were filed by Russian legal entities against the largest foreign software manufacturers: IBM Eastern Europe/Asia LLC, Dell LLC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise LLC, and HP Inc LLC.
Obligations Under the Letter of Credit Are Subject to Mandatory Execution, Despite the Sanctions Imposed
The High Court of Justice on March 3, 2023 ruled on the dispute between UniCredit Bank (UK) and aviation companies Celestial Aviation Services Limited (Ireland, a subsidiary of AerCapHoldings N.V. (Netherlands)) and Constitution Aircraft Leasing (Ireland) on the issue of payment of funds under letters of credit of Sberbank.
Russian Banks Are Now Responsible for the Frozen Funds On Bank Accounts of Russian Clients
Arbitrazh court for the Moscow City issued a judgement under the claim of a Russian entity to Alfa-Bank JSC. By this decision the court ordered the Russian bank to make a refund of the frozen funds allocated on the accounts of a correspondent bank to its client as well as charged the bank with penalties and interest for the use of its client’s money.
Russian Individual Successfully Appealed Against EU Sanctions Restrictions
On February 6, 2023, the EU official journal published news about delisting Dmitry Ovsyannikov, the former governor of Sevastopol, from the sanctions list. The exclusion was preceded by the decision of the EU court of 26 October 2022 following the review of Ovsyannikov's appeal.
Legal Advisory Services Under Newly Applied Sanctions
In October 2022, the European Commission approved the eighth package of sanctions against Russia. Among other restrictions it established a ban on the provision of legal services to Russian companies. A few weeks later, on October 24, the European Commission published answers to frequently asked questions including explanations as to what kind of legal services fall under the ban and whether the extension of sanctions to this sphere does not entail restrictions on the right to protection.
Procedural Powers of the Prosecutor Have Been Expanded
Procedural codes are amended so that powers of prosecutor are extended. These amendments come into force on 18th October 2022. These changes, among others, reflect new realities connected with the economic sanctions against Russia.